


A New Adventure

by SunflowerFangirl



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: 5 Years Later, Adventure, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Romance, adam didn’t die in this one, i didn’t like the ending to season 8 so I decided to fix it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:42:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 14,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24478150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunflowerFangirl/pseuds/SunflowerFangirl
Summary: Five years after the events of Voltron: Legendary Defender, the team gets a visit from an old friend. There is a new evil threatening the Universe, and Voltron will be needed once again.
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Allura/Lance (Voltron), Hunk/Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith (Voltron)/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	1. A Surprise Visitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everybody! I've had this idea stashed away for a while now but I've just now had the courage to post it. I'm going to try and update every Sunday. Though this will have an actual adventure plot, it will also have a lot more Ship content than season 8 did. If you're like me, season 8 just didn't feel right. But I've challenged myself to (mostly) abide by what we were given, and to improve upon it. I hope you like it!

Lance awoke to the sound of his alarm blaring in his ears. Today was a special day, it was the fifth anniversary of Allura's death. There was to be a celebration for her on Altea, but that wasn't what he looked forward to. He dressed quickly, donning the outfit he had worn on his and Allura's first (and only) date.

He stepped outside the castle, making his way to her statue. It looked beautiful. The sculptor had captured her perfectly, it was almost as if she was watching over him. "Allura," he began, so soft it was almost a whisper. "I miss you. I miss you every day. I know we were only able to go on one date, but I was head-over-heels in love with you since the minute I laid eyes on you. You made me believe I could be better than what I was. And even though you're gone, you've made me who I am today, and I can't thank you enough for that."

He did this every year. He would come out before any of the Paladins arrived for the celebration. But this year felt different. He'd spent five years spreading her vision to every corner of the known universe. "I love you, Allura." he continued. "I know you did what had to be done, but if there were any way I could bring you back to me, I'd go to every length to have you here with me."

After his yearly talk with a statue, he made his way back to his room. All of the paladins had special quarters for when they came to visit. Lance's were used more than anyone else's. He splashed water on his face, rinsing away his tears. He caught a glimpse of his Altean markings. No one had been able to explain what they were or how they appeared, but he had a feeling that they were a sign. That some way, somehow, Allura would find her way back to him.

He was longing on his couch, looking over the plans for his next mission when he heard a knock on the door. He assumed it was just one of the paladins, Pidge tended to be earlier than she needed to be for this sort of thing.

When he opened the door, he was greeted by a smiling, white-haired young woman. "A-Allura?" he asks, stepping back in shock. "Is that- are you really her? Pidge? Please tell me this isn't one of your pranks!"

"Lance, it's me," she assures him. Her voice sounded even sweeter than he remembered. 

"How?" he asks. "I thought you were gone forever! I missed you so much!"

"I missed you, too," she smiles before bringing her lips to his for a brief kiss. Lance felt like he was going to melt into the floor. "I'll tell you all about it, but I am a bit hungry, do you mind if we sit down?"

"Of course not," he smiles. "I'll call Coran, he'll be so glad to see you."

After messaging Coran,Lance sat down next to her. "It's so nice to have you back," he says. "But, how did you do it?"

"Once the job was done, Honerva and I had just enough Quintessence to bring one of us back. The hard part was figuring out how to do it," she says. " Once we figured out how it could be done, she told me to go. She was happy with Lotor in the afterlife, but I had people waiting for me here."

"That's.... surprisingly nice of her," Lance comments.

"Yes, but there was another reason as well," she looks down. "The universe may need us to form Voltron again."

"What? Why?" Lance asks. "The Galra aren't evil anymore and all of their followers have made peace with that."

"Yes, but we fear there are much greater forces at work here," she says. "Just outside what we call the 'known universe' there is a group trying to take control. We fear they've flown under your radar for far too long, and they need to be stopped before they can grow stronger."

"Okay," he says thoughtfully. "We can go over this more when the rest of the team gets here. They'll be so glad to see you."

"I'm excited to see them as well," she smiles. Suddenly, there's a knock at the door.

"Lance," a familiar voice calls. "I brought some juniberry juice. What was it that you wanted to show me?"

"Come on in, Coran," he calls.

The man stepped inside. He'd been working hard for the past five years, and it was starting to show through a map of wrinkles on his face. He almost dropped his tray when he caught sight of Allura.

"P-Princess?" he asks hopefully. "Is that really you? How are you here? Oh how we've missed you here!" He embraces her tightly. "You must tell me everything."

"It's good to see you, too, Coran," the princess smiles. "But I'd prefer to tell the story as few times as possible. I'll tell everyone once the rest of the Paladins arrive. But I would love it if you could tell me about the progress you've made here on New Altea. I've been able to keep up with some of the renovations you'd made, but I'd love a firsthand account."

"Of course, princess. I'm sure you'll be happy with them. It's almost an exact replica of the old palace, with a few updates, of course. I'll have to give you a tour later."

"That would be lovely," she agrees.

As the Alteans caught up, Lance contacted the other paladins, telling them to meet in his room when they arrived instead of outside like they normally did. He heard the first knock a few minutes later.

"I bet that's Pidge and Hunk," Lance reasons, already heading for the door.

"Hey, guys," he smiles, embracing his friends. 

"Hey, Lance," Pidge replies. She'd grown in that past few years. She was still short for her age, but no one teased her for it anymore. "So, what's this news about a surprise guest?"

"In here," Allura calls.

"What? No... That's not possible, is it?" Hunk exclaims, dashing into the sitting room. "Allura?"

"Hello Hunk," she smiles, standing to embrace him and Pidge in turn. "I've missed you two so much."

Tears were welling up in Pidge's eyes. "I can't believe you're really here," she sobs. "I missed you so much."

"I know," Allura replies. "You've grown so much. Both of you. How have you been?"

"Busy," Hunk replies, wiping his own tears from his eyes. "You make this diplomat thing look so easy."

"I'm sure you're doing an amazing job, Hunk," she assures. "How was your journey?"

"Not terrible," Pidge replies. "Though I do miss traveling with Green. It's so much quieter than the new Earth ships."

"Well, I have a feeling we'll be seeing the lions again sooner than you'd think," Allura sighs.

"What do you mean," Hunk asks, worried. "The Galra are good now, nobody's starting any wars that I know of."

"I fear you wouldn't have heard of this region of the universe. We'll be traveling into unknown territory. I was able to map out some of it and send the locations to the Blue Lion. But we can't run into this without preparation. Once Keith and Shiro arrive we can come up with a plan."

"Princess, are you sure you want to do this?" Coran cuts in. "You just got back, you can't risk your life for us again."

"It's the only way I can ensure that my people are safe," she insists. "As paladins, it is our job to defend the people of the Universe. It's best we eliminate the threat before it has time to grow."

"I wish I could disagree," he sighs. "Your father would be proud of your decisions."

"I promise we'll be careful, Coran," she says solemnly.

Before he could reply, a knock sounded at the door. "That must be Shiro and Adam," Lance says, getting up to answer the door.

"Lance, is something wrong?" Shiro asks urgently.

"Well, I have good news and bad news," Lance rubs the back of his neck.

"Good news first," Adam says from behind Shiro.

"Well then, come on in," Lance says. "We have a visitor."

"Allura..." Shiro gasps when he sees her. "But - Why - How are you here?"

"I'll explain once Keith gets here," she replies. "It's good to see you too, Shiro. Congratulations, by the way," she motions to the wedding bands on Shiro and Adam's fingers.

"Oh, um, thanks," Shiro blushes. "Okay, Lance, what was the bad news?"

"We're going to need Voltron again," Allura explains. "There's a revolution growing outside of the Galactic Coalition. We need to stop it before it's too late."

"Okay then," Shiro nods. "I'll message the garrison tomorrow and let them know we'll need to borrow ships to find the lions. But today should be about celebrating. Allura's back!"

Just as Shiro and Adam had sat down, another knock sounded at the door. "I'll get it," Lance responds.

"Hey, Keith, come on in," he says. "We have a special guest with us this year."

"Hello, Keith," Allura calls from the other room.

"Allura?" Keith asks. "How are you here? Is something wrong? This is too good to be true."

"You're right, Keith," Allura admits. "Though I hate to do this, I come bearing bad news. There's a rebellion growing outside of the boundaries of the Galactic Coalition. They want to bring back the ways of the Galra. And I fear they could be more powerful than we think."

"What are we waiting around for?" Keith asks. "We need to stop them before they get too out of hand."

"I admire your dedication Keith, but we can't rush into this without a plan," Shiro cuts in. "Besides, today is supposed to be a day of celebration, we can focus more on the problem at hand tomorrow."

"Shiro's right," Coran buts in. "Alfor never went into battle before he understood his enemy. Since they are unaware of the fact that we know about them, we can use that to our advantage."

"Then it's settled," Allura proclaims. "We'll pick this up in the morning. But for now, it's time to celebrate!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there we ave chapter 1. I hope you all enjoyed! Comments and Kudos are always appreciated. Everyone stay safe and healthy!


	2. The Journey Ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Voltron crew enjoys their yearly celebration while discussing the journey ahead.

The Paladins spent the evening like they always did. While the rest of Altea celebrated in their own ways, the heroes shared a dinner at the foot of the Princess' statue. But this year, they were joined by a special guest.

"Just think," Hunk says, setting plates out in front of everyone. "Four years ago we couldn't have dreamed that we'd be here with Allura. But here we are."

"You never did tell us how you were able to come back," Pidge points out. "I'm sure the process was fascinating."

"We were able to use the blue lion as a 'resurrection point'," she explains. "After that, It was a matter of getting my body there, which was trickier. As you know, I had to take my body with me to the afterlife, which wasn't hard. It was getting it back that was the problem."

"So how did you do it?" Shiro asks. "I know Honerva has experience with things like that, but it still wouldn’t be easy for her," he looks down at his robotic arm. 

"Yes, but though that was a good starting point, I wanted to come back in my own body. We were able to conduct a ritual that would bring me back, but it had to be done on the day of my original death. Otherwise, I could have been here weeks ago."

"Well, you're here now, and that's what counts," Lance says, taking her hand under the table and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Has anybody thought about how we're going to break the news to the rest of Altea?" Keith asks. " We can't keep them in the dark about this, they deserve to know."

"Keith's right," Shiro agrees. "We need to make some sort of announcement sooner or later."

"We can set up an announcement for tomorrow," Coran says. "I'm sure everyone will be excited to see you."

"And we could host a party!" Allura exclaims. "And invite everyone! There hasn't been a royal ball on Altea since my father was king."

"As you wish, princess," Coran smiles. "But we need to start preparing as soon as possible. We can't delay the mission."

"Of course," she agrees. 

"So, it's settled then?" Lance asks excitedly. "Let's get ready to Par-tay!"

"I'm down," Shiro shrugs. "But we need to leave right after so we can get this mission over with."

"I'll let the kitchen staff know," Hunk says. "I can call in some of my chefs to help with preparations."

"Pidge? Keith?" Lance asks. "You in?"

"I can't believe I'm agreeing to this," Keith groans.

"Fine," Pidge groans. "But no poofy dresses."

"I make no promises," Allura smiles. "This is going to be so much fun!"

"We'll begin preparations in the morning," Coran announces. "You six will leave in a week's time. In the meantime, you need to find the lions."

"I almost forgot!" Lance exclaims. "Where would they be? We don't have the fancy lion tracker like last time."

"Blue is already landed on Altea's moon," Allura informs them, "We can use it to get a general idea of where the lions are."

"I can set up the tracker if you need me to," Pidge inputs. "I still have the program I uploaded to green. But It might take me some time to find it."

"You work on that," Allura says. "We can all meet up around noon tomorrow. But for now, everyone get some rest. We have a long journey ahead of us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It felt good to connect with these characters again. Even though their main job is to protect the Universe, I love seeing them just having a conversation with one another.  
> I know the Ball may sound like a weird idea, but I feel like it will be nostalgic for Allura and Coran (and Also really wanna write a fluffy ball scene.)  
> I hope you enjoyed! Everyone please stay safe and healthy!


	3. You've Gotta Tell Her

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance convinces Hunk to tell Pidge how he feels.

The next morning, Hunk found himself in the kitchen. After finding that the kitchen staff had the morning off, he was overcome by the urge to bake something. Fishing out ingredients from the familiar cabinets, he got to work.

He had just put his creation in the oven when he heard the door open on the other side of the kitchen.

"Oh, hi, Hunk," a familiar voice came from behind him.

"Hey, Pidge," he says, turning to face the shorter girl. "What brings you to the kitchen this early?"

"I could ask you the same thing," she retorts.

"Well, I guess with everything that happened yesterday, my mind really hasn't had time to process it. I mean, we thought we were done with the war after the lions left. I thought I'd never have to do it again. And in some ways it was upsetting, like I wouldn't be able to hang out with you guys all of the time, but at least we wouldn't be risking our lives anymore. I just don't know what to think."

"We were all shocked yesterday, Hunk," she reassures him. "But the universe needs us. I know we never signed up for this, but it's our duty as paladins. Besides, I wouldn't be able to do it with anyone else supporting me, literally and figuratively."

He chuckles, catching her gaze. He'd be lying if he said he didn't have a huge crush on Pidge when they were paladins. And as much as he's hoped it would go away, her smile still made his heart flutter.

He shakes the thought to the back of his head. "So, what did you come here for?" He asks.

"Oh, um, Allura asked me to find that old tracker program, but I have so many files to sort through, I was wondering if you could help. I figured since you weren't in your room, I'd find you in here." She explains.

"I can help," he offers. "Just let me finish up these cookies."

"No problem," she smiles. "I'll get things set up in my room, meet me there when you're done."

"Okay," he says, waving awkwardly as she leaves. 

Half an hour later, he had the kitchen cleaned up and the cookies set atop a plate to bring to Pidge.

He was almost to her door when he ran into Lance. "Hey Hunk," he calls. "You didn't tell me you were making cookies."

"Um, Pidge and I are just going to start looking for the Lion Tracker. I figured we could use some brain fuel." He explains.

"Hey, did you ever ask her out? I know you had a huge crush on her when we were fighting the Galra."

"I- I don't know what you're talking about," he panics.

"Seriously? You never told her?" Lance asks, shocked. "You have to tell her."

"But, it was so long ago, even if she had feelings for me at some point, it's been five years. And besides, we're friends, I don't wanna mess that up."

"Hunk, come on, you have to be honest with her at some point. You helped me with Allura, consider this as me returning the favor."

"I-I'm not sure, Lance," he protests. "What if she doesn't feel the same way? What if she thinks it's weird? I'm twenty four years old for crying out loud! Crushes are for schoolboys!"

"Hunk, all you need to do is tell her how you feel. You've always worn your heart on your sleeve, how is this any different?"

"It's a lot different! I've never felt this way about anyone before! And... I don't wanna mess this up."

"Just relax," Lance advises. "Go help her, and if it feels right, tell her. Otherwise, I'll force you to when you least want to do it. Have fun!"

He turns around and sashays away before Hunk can protest. The yellow paladin takes a deep breath before walking up to Pidge's door and knocking.

"Come in," hollers a voice from the other side of the door.

He walks in to find the green paladin sitting on her bed, a computer in her lap, and another one sitting next to her.

"I brought cookies," he tells her. "In case we're here a while."

"Thanks Hunk!" she grins at him. "You're the best!"

"So, what do you need me to do?" he asks.

"Go ahead and have a seat wherever," she motions to her room. He opts for the only chair that doesn't have stuff piled on top of it. "You can start looking through that computer," she motions to the one sitting next to her. "This one has all of the castle's programming on it, and yours is my personal one."

"Okay," he says. She unlocks the laptop and they both get to work.

After about an hour of reading and searching, Hunk spoke up. "I think I found something."

"Bring it over here," Pidge motions to the spot next to her on the bed. "My legs fell asleep."

Hunk tries (and fails) to hide the blush that creeps up to his cheeks as he takes a seat next to her. "I noticed Yellow's signature on here, and it appears there's some sort of tracker on him. Would this be it?"

She looks over the code thoughtfully. "This is it!" She cries. "Thanks a lot Hunk. I couldn't have done it this fast without you."

"No problem," he says bashfully. 

"This was nice," she smiled. "Just you, me, and a bunch of code to look through. Just like the good old days."

"Yeah," he chuckles in agreement. Suddenly, his communicator bings. "It's Allura," he tells her, looking down at the message. "She needs my help ordering the food supplies for our journey."

"Okay," Pidge says. "I'll see you later, I guess."

He stands up, stopping just short of the door. "Um, Pidge," he asks hesitantly.  _ Oh god am I really gonna do this? _ He thinks to himself. "I was wondering if you'd want to..."

"Yes?" She asks, urging him on.

"Well, I wanted to know if you'd like to go to Allura's celebration ball with me, like maybe, as a date?"  _ Oh god I said it.  _ He tries to hide the blush forming on his face.

Pidge is silent for a moment.

"You know what, forget I said anything. It's stupid anyway," he turns to leave.

"Hunk, wait," she stops him. "I'd love to." Her smile is enough to melt his heart. "I've had a huge crush on you for the longest time. Confessing my feelings just... isn't my strong suit."

_ Ohmygod I’m dreaming. I have to be dreaming. _ "I've liked you for a while too," he confesses. "It was just... we were such good friends, and I didn't want to mess that up."

"It's okay, I was scared too, which is why I never said anything," she admits. "So, I'll see you soon?"

"Yeah," he smiles. "See you soon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was so fun to write. I’ve shipped these two since the beginning, and I was really disappointed that the show never touched on their relationship. I hope you all enjoyed. Comments and Kudos are always appreciated. Everyone stay safe and healthy!


	4. A Special Announcement

After helping Allura with the order, Hunk decided to retire to his room until dinner. Just before he could reach his door, he was stopped by Lance.

"So, did you ask her?" Lance asks slyly.

Hunk blushes. "Yeah..."

"So, what did she say?" Lance asks excitedly.

"She said yes!" Hunk exclaims. "What am I supposed to do? What do you wear to a space ball anyway? Will she hate me if I dress too fancy and make her feel like she should have dressed nicer? Or should I dress more casual so she doesn't feel like she has to dress really nicely? Lance, I need help!"

"Whoa, calm down, buddy," Lance says. "I've seen the way you two look at each other, you don't need to worry about any of that. She likes you for who you are, you don't need to change yourself."

Hunk takes a deep breath. "Thanks, Lance," I needed that.

"Anytime buddy," Lance pats him on the back. "Now, get some rest, Allura's making her announcement to Altea tonight and she wants us all there in full armor."

"Okay, I'll see you then," he waves as Lance leaves.

\-----

Hours later, all of the paladins had made their way to the front of the New Castle of Lions. Hunk and Pidge took their spots next to each other. Pidge gave him a smile before turning away to hide the blush growing on her cheeks.

Lance turns to Hunk and gives him a thumbs-up. Hunk's blush deepens. Hunk is saved from any further embarrassment by Coran stepping up to the platform and addressing the virtual audience.

"You're probably wondering why we've called you all today," the man starts. "In short, a miracle has occurred. You've all heard the story of our princess Allura who sacrificed herself for us. But yesterday, we were surprised with a very special guest. I'd like to introduce to you, our lost Princess Allura!"

The camera cut to Allura, who had just stepped into everyone's view. "Hello everyone," the princess starts. "I know you all have many questions, and I wish I was able to answer all of them, but I honestly I'm still kind of confused as well. But I promise, I will try to explain it in time."

"The palace will be hosting a ball for the entire kingdom to greet their lost Princess next week," the cameras returned to Coran. "We ask that you feel free to send in questions you have for the princess, we will get to all of them in time. In the meantime, we must continue our preparations. Thank you."

The cameras cut and we all relax. "You did an amazing job, Allura," Lance compliments. "You should be proud of yourself."

"I'm just worried they might have taken it the wrong way," she whispers. "I know they'd be even more upset if we didn't tell them, but I'm still afraid of how they will react."

"They'll be happy to have you back, just like we were," Pidge reasons. "You did save every reality from extinction."

"Pidge is right," Shiro cuts in. "You saved them, they should be thankful."

"I hope you're right," she sighs. "I'm going to turn in for the night. I'll see you all in the morning."

"Sleep tight, princess," Coran calls after her. Suddenly, his communicator starts to chime rapidly.

"It seems we already have plenty of questions coming in for the princess," he says, looking down at the messages.

"We can help her with them in the morning," Pidge says. "We should be able to organize them into categories, I bet most of them are pretty similar."

"That's a good idea," Lance says. "Could you do that? I'm sure Hunk could help you if you need it."

"Oh, um, yeah, I guess I could help," Hunk stutters.

"I have some idea as to how we could get it done quickly. But I don't want to lose any time that we could use to prepare for the mission. Will you guys be able to figure it out without us?"

"We already called your father and explains that we'll need the Atlas and a small crew to help. All that's left to do is find the lions, and thanks to you, we already know where they are."

"Okay then," she smiles. "Hunk, can you go make a pot of coffee? We're gonna need it."

"Fine, but if I fall asleep halfway through a line of code, it's your fault," he complains playfully.

"Great!" she smiles. "Coran, I'm gonna need all those messages."

"I'm going to have them all send to your computer," he says, punching a few buttons on his screen.

"Thank you guys, this will mean a lot to her," Lance says. "She's already stressed out with the mission, so it'll be a lot of weight off of her shoulders."

"It's no problem," Pidge shrugs. "We should have it done by morning if we get started quickly."

"Okay," Shiro nods. "Everyone else, get some sleep we've got a lot of work to do in the morning."

With that, the Paladins went their separate ways for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments and Kudos are always appreciated. Everyone stay safe and healthy!


	5. All-Nighter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk and Pidge pull an All-Nighter while trying to help out Allura.

By the time Hunk arrived with coffee, Pidge was already hard at work on the sorting algorithm.

"I'm surprised you don't already have a sorting program on one of your computers," Hunk says, sitting down at Pidge's desk.

"Me too," she agrees. "I remember Matt teaching me how to make one years ago, but I haven't had time to convert the knowledge to Altean tech. How hard can it be?"

"The last time you said that we were awake for thirty-six hours, Shiro almost sent a search party after us, we were gone that long."

"That was seven years ago!" Pidge protests. "I didn't know what I was doing?"

"Yes, you did," Hunk says. "You knew what you were doing more than anybody. You're crazy smart, you just don't give yourself enough credit."

"Thanks, Hunk," she smiles. "I couldn't have wished for a better boyfriend."

He stops. "Wait- did you just? Am I your boyfriend?"

"Well, you asked me out, I said yes, and I really like you, so I think that qualifies you to be my boyfriend," she reasons. "Unless you don't..."

"No, no, it's just, I've dreamed of asking you for years, it just kinda took me by surprise," he chuckles. "I'd be glad to call you my girlfriend."

"Now that that's settled," she says, changing the subject before she starts blushing like a lovesick idiot, "we need to get to work."

"Yeah," Hunk agrees. "What do you need me to do?"

"I should have a sorting program on that computer over there," she motions to the laptop balanced atop a stack of books. "We'll need to translate it to Altean and change the parameters, but it's a starting point."

"Okay, I can look for it," he says, opening the computer. "Do you have any idea what you named it?"

"Not really," she shrugs. "But it would date back to the Garrison days."

"Okay, I'll start at the very beginning and go from there," he says, getting to work.

A few minutes later he speaks up. "I think I found it."

"Could you come over here? I need you to check this," says, scotting over to make room for Hunk on the bed.

Hunk carefully sits down, making sure not to sit too close to the green paladin. "Sure, what do you need me to look over?"

"Based on the messages that are coming in, I'm trying to find a way to name them all so we can sort them out. How do these look?"

Hunk studied the list carefully. "I can't believe there are only ten types of questions coming in. I know I had more questions than that. Heck, I still do."

"Oh yeah, there's a ton more, which is why I said I'd need help."

"Looks like we have our work cut out for us," Hunk groans. "We're gonna need more coffee."

The two worked for hours. Around 2am, Pidge was startled out of her work by the sound of Hunk's snores. He was slumped over against the wall, a slight trail of drool escaping his open mouth.

She smiles. This wasn't the first time this had happened. When they had a project to get done, he would work until he couldn't keep his eyes open. He always looked so peaceful in his sleep. The yellow paladin was known for his constant worries, so seeing him so calm was rare.

Careful not to wake her sleeping boyfriend, she poured herself another cup of coffee and got back to work.

A few hours later, the program appears to be done. "Hunk," she whispers, shaking him lightly.

"What is it, Pidge?" he asks with a yawn.

"I think I got it," she tells him. "You ready to test it out?"

"Oh gosh, how long was I out?" he asks. "I'm so sorry, I should've helped more! I..."

She cuts him off with a light kiss on the cheek. "It's okay," she says. "You were a big help, I couldn't have done it without you."

He blushes. "I can't wait to see it in action," he changes the subject before he can get any more flustered.

"Okay, uploading the emails... Now!" she presses the button. They watch the screen buffer, loading all of the information. Suddenly, the messages pop up on the screen, all sorted into separate categories to be answered.

"You're a genius, Pidge!" Hunk exclaims. "I could kiss you!"

"What?" she asks, taken aback.

"I mean, Uh, if you wanted to," he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "You don't..."

She places a hand on his cheek and brings his lips to hers. It was a miracle Hunk didn't melt into a pile of food goo right there.

When she pulled away, Hunk was blushing furiously. "Come on, we should show Allura, she's probably up by now."

Hunk looks at the the clock, It's barely 4 am. "You need sleep," he protests. "I'll wake you up at 6:30."

"I'm fine," she protests, a yawn betraying her real feelings.

"Please, for me?" he begs, giving her his best puppy dog eyes. "I'll make you peanut butter cookies."

"Fine, but they better be fresh out of the oven," she groans, brushing him off her bed so she could climb under the covers.

"Sleep tight," he says, leaning over to kiss her forehead. The green paladin, already half asleep, gives a satisfied hum.

He tiptoes out of her room and into his own, setting an alarm to remind him to make cookies. Just because they were dating didn't mean he still didn't fear the Green Paladin's wrath. And besides, she deserved it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, it just occurred to me that the last few chapters have been Punk fluff. I would apologize, but knowing myself, this won't be changing anytime soon. Don't worry, we will actually get some plot in the next couple of chapters.  
> If any of you have noticed the tag update, you will know that I plan to give Keith a love interest in a later chapter. However, I don't really have any good ideas for names. So, if anybody has a name idea, it would be a big help. Also, if there is a certain scene you'd like to see (or a place from the show you think they should revisit) feel free to leave a comment down below and I will try to throw in a few of your suggestions if I can.  
> Thank you all for reading! Comments and kudos are always appreciated, Everyone stay safe and healthy!


	6. Helping Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk and Pidge meet with Allura to see how she's doing.

Just before 6:30, Hunk knocked on Pidge's door. "Come in," groans a sleepy voice on the other side.

"Wakey Wakey," Hunk singsongs.

"Has anyone ever told you you're way too energetic in the mornings?" She complains, rubbing her eyes.

"Nope," he smiles. "Come on, we gotta get the program to Allura. And we gotta go find the lions today. I'm not sure about you, but I'll be glad to see Yellow again."

"Yeah," she agrees. "I miss Green."

"Now get dressed, Allura's probably already gotten to work."

"Fine," she groans as she stumbles out of bed. "Leave me a few cookies and give me some privacy, I'll meet you outside in a minute," she begins to pick a wrinkled shirt off the floor.

A minute later she emerges. "Ready to go?" Hunk asks.

"Yup," she nods, patting her computer bag. "Do you know when we're supposed to go find the lions? I know Yellow and Green are close, so we could probably just take one ship."

"Works for me," he shrugs.

They find Allura in the King's study. She was already hard at work on a computer, typing responses at a speed that rivaled Pidges.

"Hey, Allura," Pidge waves. "We think we might have something that'll help you out."

"Pidge, Hunk, what a lovely surprise," she gives them a tired smile.

"Last night we were able to come up with a program to sort out any of your messages, so you could answer similar questions without having to type out every single one." Hunk explains.

"My dad does a similar thing with the classes he teaches," Pidge continues. "He organizes their questions into categories so that he can send them all the same reply with only a bit of editing needed to make it more personal. It's saved him hours of work."

"Thank you," she says with a relieved sigh. "You two are geniuses."

"Pidge was the brains behind it all," Hunk answers sheepishly. "I just help wherever she needs it."

"You do as much as I do, if not more, you don't give yourself enough credit," Pidge protests. She hated when Hunk would put himself down, sometimes the rest of the team seemed to underestimate him, and she despised it.

"Where's Lance?" Hunk asks. "I figured he'd be here helping you out."

"Keith and Lance have already left in search of their lions, and Shiro and Adam are going to pick up the Atlas back on Earth."

"And how are you doing?" Pidge asks.

"It's all very overwhelming, but I'm managing this helps a lot," she says with a weak smile. "I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'm glad to finally be home."

"Let us know if you need anything," Hunk tells her.

"Just get your lions as soon as possible," she says. "We need to be ready to leave soon."

" Looks like we'd better get going, then," Pidge reasons. "Race you to the ship!"

Hunk laughs. "See you later, Allura," he smiles before turning around and chasing his girlfriend down the castle hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter was mostly just a filler, but I'd written it in my original draft and I couldn't bring myself to not put it out there. In reference to my question last week, if any of you have a name or any other suggestions for Keith's boyfriend please let me know. I love hearing from all of you!  
> Thank you all for reading! Comments and Kudos are always apreciated! Everyone stay safe and healthy!


	7. Confidence (part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Keith have a heartfelt conversation while they search for their lions.

Lance and Keith were approaching the Milky Way galaxy. "Isn't it weird that one of the lions always manages to find its way to our galaxy?" Lance asks. "Maybe they're drawn to it or something."

"Maybe one of the lions stayed nearby in case it needed to be easily accessed," Keith reasons blandly.

"Yeah, but if my lion was in the Milky Way twice, that can't be a coincidence," Lance jabbers. "Maybe they're drawn to my home or something."

"Think what you want, Lance, but we need to get the lions and get back to Altea as soon as possible. There's still a ton of preparations that need to be made before we're ready to leave."

"I hope Allura's okay," Lance thinks out loud. "She seemed so stressed yesterday. I wish, for once, we could just spend time together without the fate of the universe counting on us."

"I know how you feel," Keith sighs.

"Oh? Does someone have a secret relationship?" Lance says, teasing. "Do tell."

"It's just a stupid crush," Keith blushes. "It's nothing."

"Come on," Lance says. "What's her name?"

"His name is Liam," Keith says, matter-of-factly.

"Oh, I'm sorry- I just-," Lance stutters.

"It's okay. I guess I never really told anybody but Shiro and Adam. I didn't really think I'd ever think of dating in the first place, so I didn't tell you guys."

"That's okay," Lance says. "I mean- I guess I always kinda suspected it. So, are you gonna ask him out?"

"What?" No. I couldn't do that." Keith insists.

"Come on. You can ask him for the ball."

Keith's blush deepened. "But what if I make it awkward? He's been chosen for the Atlas crew, so I'll be stuck with him for years. I couldn't live with that kind of embarrassment."

"Come on, Keith, you're a good-looking guy. And beneath your tough-guy exterior, I know you've got a big heart. He'd be lucky to be your boyfriend."

"You really think so?" Keith asks, glancing away from the control panel.

"Yeah, dude," Lance assures him. "You just gotta believe in yourself."

"Thanks, Lance," Keith smiles.

"Anytime, buddy," Lance smiles back.

Two hours later they're in their respective lions, towing their old ship behind them. "So, are you going to ask him?" Lance asks through the communicator.

"Yeah, I think I will," Keith nods, smiling slightly. This was different than any of his other crushes. Maybe being a paladin had something to do with it, maybe he just got wiser with age. Bit, either way, he was willing to give a relationship a shot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I may not be a Klancer, but I love their friendship. In case anyone was wondering: Liam is Altean. You'll get a better discription soon, I promise.  
> Thank you for reading! Everyone stay safe and healthy!


	8. Confidence (part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith decides to take Lance's dating advice.

Keith gazed at the door to the engineering bay longingly. He figured it would be less busy this late at night. He knew Liam often worked late with Hunk and Pidge most nights, so this would be the best time to make his move.

“Why am I doing this?”He mumbles. “It’s not like he’ll say yes.”

He almost turned back, but then he remembered what Lance had said. A guy would be lucky to date him. And that meant a lot coming from his teenage crush.

Keith was about to step inside when the door to the engineering bay opened and a certain Altean stepped out.

“Oh, Keith,” Liam says, startled. “Uh, Hunk and Pidge are still out. Sorry.”

“Oh, um, that’s okay,” Keith stutters. “I-uh, I actually wanted to talk to you.”

“Okay,” Liam says, running a hand through his hair, leaving a trail of soot on his light pink hair. He was wearing a grease-stained apron overtop his uniform. There was more soot covering his face, making his bright pink markings even more prominent. Keith thought he looked beautiful.

Keith took a deep breath. It was now or never. “I know we don’t know each other that well, but I was- I was kinda wondering if you’d like to go to Allura’s ball with me? I mean- assuming you aren’t going with anyone yet. It’s kind of a silly concept. It’s totally fine if you don’t want -”

“I’d love to,” Liam cuts him off.

“Wait, really?” Keith asks.

“I mean- yeah. I’d been working up the nerve to ask you since the ball was announced. Everything you’ve done for the coalition, it’s amazing. And you’re really cool. So- yeah, I’d love to go with you.”

“Okay then. I guess I’ll see you then,” Keith says, trying and failing to play it cool.

Liam laughs.  _ Gosh, he has a beautiful laugh, _ “I’ll see you then.”

Keith felt like he was floating on air for the rest of the night. He suddenly couldn’t wait for the ball.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter. This wasn't in my initial plan, but after last chapter, I felt like it would be a good addition.  
> Thanks for reading! Everyone stay safe and Healthy!


	9. There's No Way I'm Stopping You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro and Adam have a talk on the Atlas.

Shiro stepped onto the Atlas for the first time in years. He made his way wordlessly to the bridge, taking in every aspect of the ship he had missed so much.

"Takashi, this place is amazing," Adam breathes. 

"Now you know why I miss it so much," Shiro smiles. "When I was in space, no one was there to doubt me without a good reason. No one to tell me I was too weak, no one to underestimate me. They believed in me the way only one person had before."

"And who was that?" Adam asks.

"You," Shiro says, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"I know there's no way to keep you from going on this mission," Adam starts.

"Adam, you know I have to."

"I'm done trying to convince you to stay," Adam insists. "I'm coming with you. Like I should have last time. I already talked to Coran, he said it was fine. Besides, I'm a Garrison graduate too, I can help."

Shiro couldn't do anything but smile and kiss his husband passionately. "Thank you." he grins when they finally part. 

"You didn't think I was going to let you galavant into space without me, did you?" Adam asks.

"I hoped you wouldn't," Shiro says. "No matter who we're fighting, the hardest part has always been being without you."

"So, what do you say we get this ship back to Altea?" Adam says, taking his husband by the hand.

"Sam said we'll need to stop by a Balmera first for a new ship crystal. Shay's Balmera is relatively close, and it's on the way."

"Sounds good," Adam says. "Lead the way."

The Atlas was oddly quiet without a large crew. It made the halls feel more bare than usual. "I never realized how quiet this ship was," Shiro comments. "Even the lions make a bit of a noise when they're flying, but this is almost completely silent."

"Sam is an amazing engineer," Adam shrugs. "He's been working on updating the Atlas since it was first built. Sure, he has other projects, but this ship is like a third child to him."

Shiro laughs. "That sounds like Sam."

"So, how far away is the Balmera?" Sam asks. "I've heard about them, but I've never had the pleasure of seeing one."

"You're going to be seeing a lot of new places on our mission," Shiro smiles. "I can't wait to show you the universe."

"Awww," Adam wraps his arms around his husband's waist. "You are my universe."

Shiro couldn't hide his blush. "Come on, you're distracting me," he complains. "Unless you want me to crash this thing, I recommend that you save it until we're back on Altea."

"Fine," he grumbles, taking his place at one of the computers.

A few hours later, they had arrived at the Balmera. "Hello, Shay," Shiro shook hands with their old ally. "It's good to see you."

"You too, Shiro," she smiles. "do you guys need a new crystal?"

"Yes," Shiro says. "Though we don't have an Altean with us to restore the quintessence. We're very sorry for such short notice."

"No problem," she says. "Allura has already done so much for us, it's the least we can do."

"Will you be joining us on the journey, then?" Adam asks.

"No," she says. "Hunk put me and Vrepit Sal in charge of making sure his restaurants are taken care of. It's not quite as exciting, but it's no easy task."

"We'll miss you," Shiro says. "Will you still be at Allura's ball?"

"I wouldn't miss it," she says. "Now, I need to get back, but I'll see you guys soon."

"Give your family our love," Shiro calls after her.

After the crystal was loaded, they boarded the ship once again and set a course for Altea.

They were greeted by Keith, who was waiting next to the Red lion.

"Did you guys have any trouble?" He asks. "You were supposed to be here hours ago."

"We had to take a slight detour to get a new crystal," Shiro explains. "Sam forgot to order a new one, so we decided to get it ourselves."

"Okay, then," Keith shrugs. "I'm going to bed, we can get the ship loaded tomorrow. Lance already turned in for the night, Hunk and Pidge should be back soon."

"See you tomorrow, Keith," Shiro says before the men head toward their room for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked it! Thanks for reading! Comments and Kudos are always appreciated. Everyone stay safe and healthy!


	10. A Warm Welcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Paladins head to Earth to visit their families.

The next morning, Hunk and Pidge came into breakfast looking extremely tired.

"Are you two alright?" Allura asks. "How late did you get back?"

"We got back two hours ago," Hunk yawns. "Apparently the creatures on Yellow's planet worshiped her as some sort of god. Their security system was intense, we had to sneak into the temple once they had all gone to sleep, and even after that, they chased us all the way out of their solar system."

"Wow, how'd they build a religion around a creature that only appeared four years ago?" Lance asks.

"Apparently their crops grew insanely well right after she landed there, so they believed it was all because of her." Pidge explains.

"Wow, Hunk," Lance comments. "Yellow sure makes herself hard to find."

Hunk chuckles. "Yeah, at least she's well behaved after that."

"Pidge, did the green lion give you any trouble?" Allura asks.

"No, actually," Pidge answers. "She was in the same place we found her last time."

"That planet was beautiful," Shiro comments. "And the lush forests gave her plenty of places to hide."

"So," Hunk asks. "Now that we have the lions, what are we going to do?"

"Once the Atlas is all packed, there's really nothing else," Allura responds. "The ball is in a few days' time. I recommend that you all spend some time with your loved ones. Though I hope this mission is fast, we have no idea how long we'll be gone. Feel free to take your lions. It's good for them to get used to traveling again."

"Allura, you need to take time to rest, too," Shiro insists. "I'm sure the castle staff can hold down the fort while you rest for a bit."

"Yeah," Lance agrees. "You deserve a break."

"A break would be nice," Allura sighs. "I've answered most of the questions that have come in, and the castle staff already knows what they need to do. A trip to Earth might be nice."

"Great," Lance concludes. "I'll call my mom and tell her to set another place for dinner tonight."

Allura smiles. "It'll be good to take a break," she sounded as if she was trying to convince herself.

"So, are we all headed to Earth?" Pidge asks.

"I'm headed back to Daibazaal," Keith says. "I'll meet you guys back here in a few days."

"Okay, sounds like a plan."

"Mind if we hitch a ride with you guys?" Shiro asks, motioning to him and Adam. 

"No problem," Pidge says.

A few hours later, they were all ready to go.

After the wormhole opened, the four lions flew through, making an instant trip to the paladins' home planet.

Once they landed, they were greeted by a crowd of people, some of them holding signs welcoming back Allura. "Wow, word sure travels fast," Shiro says, surprised.

"I'm sure Lance's family had something to do with it," Pidge concludes, motioning to the McClain family, standing front and center, next to the Holts and Garrotes.

The paladins run out to embrace their families. "Welcome back, Katie," Mrs. Holt says, hugging her daughter tight,.

"Mom, I was only gone a week," PIdge groans.

"I know, but I still missed you," she smiles.

"Are you guys ready for another journey on the Atlas?" Pidge asks. 

"Always," Matt smiles. "When do we leave again?"

"Right after the send-off ball," Sam informs them. Pidge groans. She had intended to keep the party a secret from her mother, but now Colleen was going to force her to go shopping.

"You didn't tell me they were having a send off ball," Colleen smiles mischievously. "Have you thought of what you're going to wear?"

"Mom, I'm a paladin of Voltron..."

"Which is why you need to look presentable," she cuts in.

"Fine," Pidge grumbles. Matt holds back a laugh.

"Hey, Pidge," Hunk calls. "Come over here."

The yellow paladin waves her over. "Hello, Pidge," his mother smiles. "Hunk has told us so much about you."

"Pidge, these are my parents," Hunk smiles. Pidge extends her hand for them to shake, but Hunk's mom pulls her into a hug.

"Tsuyoshi never introduces us to his friends," Hunk's mother explains. "He's usually so quiet, for a while we wondered if he had any."

"That's hard to believe," Pidge tells them. "Hunk is probably the nicest person I've ever met. Not to mention one of the smartest."

"Awww, Pidge," Hunk rubs the back of his neck bashfully.

"Would you and your family like to join us for dinner?" Hunk's mother asks. "I'm sure your parents have been very busy lately, they always appear like they need a break."

"I think they'd enjoy that," Pidge smiles. "I'll let them know I have dinner covered for tonight."

"We'll see you at 6:30," She smiles. She takes her husband's arm and leads him towards the McClain family.

"Sorry about my mom," Hunk says bashfully. "I might have helped save the universe and launched a culinary empire, but she still thinks I'm the same socially awkward kid I was back at the Garrison."

"It's cool," Pidge shrugs. "My mom did the same thing at first. Matt had to convince her that I wasn't fifteen anymore."

Hunk chuckles. "Two of the most well-known warriors in the universe can't even go out without their parent's permission."

Pidge laughs. "Pretty much."

"I'd better go help my parents with dinner," Hunk says. "I'll see you later."

"See you," Pidge smiles, heading back to meet her own family.

"Hunk's mom invited us over for dinner tonight," Pidge tells her mother once she reaches them.

"I'm in," Matt says. "If she cooks half as good as her son, it'll be well worth it."

"That was nice of her," Sam replies. "Honestly, I'm not sure if we even have food in our refrigerator, I've been eating at work for the past few days, trying to get everything ready for my absence."

"What time do we need to be there?" Colleen asks. "I'd like to check out the stores today to make sure we can find something suitable for you to wear to the ball."

"Six-thirty," Pidge says. "And do we really have to go shopping? I just got back."

"You need to look presentable. Now, I'm going to ask Allura if she wants to tag along, god knows the girl needs a break," She says sympathetically.

PIdge groans as her mother turns around to find Allura. Sam laughs. "Your mother is just excited," he smiles. "Don't worry, as soon as it's over you'll be back in your Paladin uniform."

"I know, but that doesn't mean I won't complain about it," Pidge says.

"I doubt you'll complain if Hunk compliments you," Matt smirks.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Pidge dismisses.

"Sure, Katie," Matt rolls his eyes. "It's no secret."

"Matt, take it easy on your sister," Sam cuts in. "She doesn't tease you every time you sneak out with a pretty alien."

Matt blushes, Pidge gives him a satisfied smirk.

A minute later, Colleen came charging through the crowd with Allura in tow. "Okay, we're ready to go!" She smiles. Allura and Pidge share a look. This was going to be an eventful day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading! I really enjoy writing these characters. Comments and Kudos are greatly Appreciated! Everyone stay safe and healthy!


	11. Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colleen drags Pidge and Allura on a shopping trip.

"So, Pidge," Allura starts once they are in the car. "Are you planning on going to the ball with anyone special?"

Pidge's face turned as red as a cherry. "Um, yeah," she mumbles quietly.

"Do tell," Allura presses.

"You didn't tell me about this," Colleen cuts in. "Who is the lucky boy?"

"Um, I'm going with Hunk," Pidge says quickly. "Do we have to talk about this?"

"As punishment for not telling me immediately, yes," Colleen smiles mischievously.

"Well, he just asked me when we were working, and he's amazing and kind, and smart, why wouldn't I go with him?"

Colleen looks satisfied. "Allura, what about you? Are you planning to go with Lance?"

"Of course," Allura responds. "I wish I hadn't been so busy as soon as I came back, I want to get some quality time with him before we have to save the universe again."

"I know it's hard," Pidge puts her hand on Allura's reassuringly. "But as soon as we save the universe, we can come back here and finally settle down."

"Speaking of which, do I hear royal wedding bells anytime soon?" Colleen asks Allura.

It's Allura's turn to blush. "I'd prefer to wait a bit," She admits. "It's not that I don't love Lance, but after being gone for so long, I want to make sure it's something he still wants."

Colleen nods. "I understand." She pulls into a parking lot. "We're here."

Pidge groans. "How long will this take?"

"As long as you make it take," Colleen retorts.

"Though I'm glad to be with the both of you, why did you insist I come?" Allura asks.

"You can help us out," Colleen tells her. "Though I've been there many times, I've never really researched much about Altean fashion. And you seemed like you needed a bit of girl time."

"That's very kind of you." Allura smiles warmly. "Earth has got a few things that are similar to Altean customs. But I think Pidge should be able to represent her home planet. And as for myself, Coran already has the tailors working on a gown for me."

"So, where should we start?" Pidge asks, desperate to get this over with as quickly as possible.

"Well, all of the dresses are arranged by color, so we should probably start with the green since that's what you're known for, right?" Colleen reasons.

"Yes, the paladins should be representing their lions if possible," Allura nods.

After a half-hour of browsing, they had a stack of dresses in every shade of green. "You ready to try them on?" Colleen asks.

An hour later, they had narrowed it down to two different gowns. "I think they're both lovely," Allura tells her.

"I agree," Colleen says. "Which one do you like the best?"

Pidge surveyed the dresses carefully. The first one was a deep forest green but was rather ruffly and hard to walk in. The second was a lighter green, closer to that of her lion, and though the skirt was a bit long, it was easy to move around in. In case something were to happen, she could fight if she had to.

"This one," She says, holding up the lighter green dress. "But it might need to be shortened a bit." Though she had finally grown a bit taller, Pidge was still short by all standards. Normally, it didn't matter because she didn't care if she had to roll up her pant legs or if her t-shirts seemed too long, but when it came to dresses, she had no idea what to do.

"I can fix it tomorrow," Colleen says. "I'm sure I can find my old sewing supplies somewhere."

"Great," Pidge stands up. "Now we can pay and go."

"Not yet," Colleen stops her. "You still need shoes. I'd let you borrow mine, but your feet are far too small."

Pidge shot her mother a death glare before following her to the shoe section.

After another half hour of searching, Pidge found a pair of half-inch heels (Colleen insisted on heels) that were easy enough to walk in. Pidge checked the time on her phone. "Mom, we have to be at Hunk's in two hours, can we hurry this up?"

"Just a second," Colleen says, finally reaching the register.

"Do you have any plans for tonight?" Colleen asks Allura once they are back in the car.

"Well, I'm going to Lance's house for dinner tonight. His family has been very supportive of us. It will be nice to see them again."

"That's good," Pidge says. "If anyone needs a break, it's you."

"Being a ruler means putting your kingdom's needs before your own," Allura recites. "It's what my father did, and I hope to be as good a leader as him one day."

"A lofty goal," Colleen comments.

"But you'll have us by your side the whole way," Pidge says. 

"Thanks, Pidge," Allura sighs. "That means a lot."

After dropping off Allura at the Garrison, Pidge and her mother made their way home. After a few minutes of silence, Colleen spoke. "So, going to the dance with Hunk?"

"Mom, I told you, it's no big deal," Pidge groans.

"You do realize this is your first boyfriend," Her mom reasons. "I have every right to be excited."

Pidge blushes.

"I know how you feel, I didn't go on my first actual date until I was a Junior in High School," her mom tells her. "Your dad hasn't changed a bit."

Pidge smiles. "I really do like him, mom." She sighs dreamily. "He's kind, smart, loyal, and thoughtful..."

"Katie, You think I didn't see the way you two looked at each other on the Atlas all those years ago? It was no secret how you felt about him."

"But, what if it goes wrong?" Pidge looks down at her lap. "What if something happens and he doesn't feel the same anymore."

"Katie, you are smart, beautiful, and kind, and if a guy can't see that they aren't worth your time. But I've seen the way he looks at you. He sees you for who you are, and he loves you for it."

"Thanks, mom," Pidge sighs. "I guess I'm just nervous."

"It's just first date jitters, you'll do fine," Colleen rests a hand on her daughter's knee.

As they pulled into the driveway and stepped out of the car, Pidge gave her mom a tight hug. "Thank you, mom."

"Anytime, sweetie," She smiles. "Now, go get ready, we need to leave for your boyfriend's house in a half-hour."

Pidge didn't complain, she went to go get ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	12. Family Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Holts join the Garrotts for dinner.

Hunk wrung his hands nervously. Pidge and her family were supposed to be here any minute. What if the food wasn't cooked all the way through? What if he says something awkward and everybody hates him?

"Are you okay, sweetie?" his mother asks, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You look like you're about to blow up."

"It's nothing," Hunk sighs. "I'm just so nervous. I mean, what if this all goes terribly wrong and then Pidge decides she doesn't want to be my girlfriend anymore, and then we'll have to be working together on Voltron but it'll just be awkward." He hides his head in his hands, groaning loudly.

"Everything will be fine," She tells him. "Just relax, and everything will play out as it should."

Hunk takes a soothing breath. "Thanks, mom," he smiles. "I guess I'm bad at this whole dating thing."

She laughs. "No one in this family has ever been good at romance. It took months for your father to work up the courage to hold my hand. But I wouldn't trade it for the world. I'm proud that you worked up the courage to ask Pidge to the ball. You've grown so much over the past few years."

"Awwww, mom," he blushes. "Thank you," he scoops her up into a bear hug, which she gladly returns.

"Now, I think the chicken is almost done," she says, releasing her grip on her son. "Why don't you go ahead and get changed and your father and I will finish up."

Hunk heads up the stairs and returns later wearing an orange button-up and a pair of slacks. It felt odd wearing dressier clothes. Being a space chef, Hunk almost always wore his chef smock to work, and he preferred jeans and a t-shirt when he wasn't in the kitchen. Not long after he was ready, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Hunk calls, motioning for his parents to finish up with the food.

He opened the door and the rich smell of Samoan food wafts through the door. "Hi guys," he smiles. "Come on in, dinner is almost ready."

"Thank you for inviting us," Sam says, shaking hands with Hunk's parents. "Everything smells amazing."

"It's nice to formally meet you all," Hunks mother smiles.

"I feel terrible for never introducing myself," Colleen says, offering a handshake. "I'm Colleen, and I'm sure you've heard of Sam and Matt here."

Mrs. Garrett laughs. " I'm Ailana, and this is Lagi."

"It's great to meet you," Sam says. "Your son has an amazing talent, I'm glad to have him as part of the Voltron team."

"It has really helped him grow more confident," Ailana smiles proudly. "As hard as it is to have him so far away, I'm glad he's happy."

"It's hard either way," Colleen tells her. "I have a heart attack whenever they have to go on any mission, I can hardly imagine what it's like when you're waiting for the Garrison to tell you what little they can."

"It is hard," She admits. "But he's always come back. All we can do is pray for their safe return."

Colleen nods solemnly. "We didn't ask our children to save the universe. All we can do is support them."

"That's enough sad talk for now," Ailana says. "How about we eat?"

"I'd never refuse food from Hunk's kitchen," Matt grins.

The food was amazing. Pidge had thought Hunk's food was the best in the Universe, but when he worked with his parents, it was even better. "This is amazing," Pidge mumbles between bites.

"It's funny," Hunk tells them. "After I've been experimenting with space ingredients, it's crazy how many more ideas I have for Earth's spices. You'd think the two are very different. Everyone has different tastes, but no one cares where the food came from, as long as it's prepared with love." He looked fondly at his girlfriend, earning a blush from the green paladin.

The parents share a knowing look. Matt holds back a laugh.

After dinner, they all assemble in the sitting room. Pidge surveys the room, there are pictures of Hunk with all of his younger cousins. "Is this the rest of your family?" She asks, motioning to a picture of Hunk and his parents with who she assumes are Hunk's Aunts, Uncles, and cousins.

"Yeah," Hunk says. "They're on vacation in Florida right now. Too bad they can't meet you. My cousins have always wanted to meet all of the other paladins."

"We can call them tonight if you want," Ailana tells her son. "I know how much they've been missing you."

"That would be nice," Hunk says. Pidge could plainly see just how much he wished they were here. Being away from his family was the hardest thing for Hunk when they were first fighting the Galra. And not being able to say goodbye before he left again was almost as hard.

"We'll be back soon," She reassures him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"They are all very proud of you, Hunk," Ailana smiles at her son. "And they will be thrilled to see you when you come back." Her husband grunts in agreement.

After a bit more conversation, Hunk decides to show Pidge around his old workshop.

"I can't believe you had your own lab in your house," PIdge breathes, looking around the basement.

"Well, whenever my cousins were around, I had to share my room, so my parents decided I needed a 'safe space'," he explains. "So it became my own personal workroom. I built my galaxy garrison submission robot in this very room."

"Awesome," she says, her eyes found a wall of trophies with pictures hanging next to them. "What are these?"

"Just the robotics trophies I won when I was a kid," Hunk says humbly. "And a few local cooking competitions. I've never been that competitive, I just enjoyed doing things for fun, and I guess I was pretty good at it."

"That's awesome, Hunk," she smiles at him. Hunk feels his heartbeat speed up. It happened whenever she smiled at him. That smile that made him feel like the only guy in the world. This time he didn't even try to hide the blush making its way to his cheeks.

"Not nearly as awesome of all the things we've built-in space," he says. "Working with you really brought out the best in me. It helped me become who I am today."

Pidge is blushing now. "I meant what I said when we were with Allura, you really don't give yourself enough credit. You're one of the best engineers I know, and I come from a family of them. You had it in you the whole time, I just wish you would take more credit for how awesome you are."

"Yeah, I guess I'm just uncomfortable with the spotlight," Hunk admits. "Like, when I'm with the rest of you guys, I'm completely fine, because I'm with my team, but it's hard to be up there all by yourself."

"I understand," She places a reassuring hand on his arm. "We all know how awesome you are."

"So," Hunk says, turning the conversation away from himself. "How bad was shopping today?"

"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," PIdge admits. "But I still don't understand why I can't just wear a suit like the rest of you. I mean, I did it for Shiro and Adam's wedding, and that was a lot more important than some ball. I wish I could just be seen as one of the paladins, not ' the female paladin'. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love being on the team, but sometimes I hate the expectations people put me to, ya know?"

"Yeah," Hunk says. "If it matters to you at all, I think you look great in anything."

Pidge blushes. "Since when did you get so good at flirting?"

"I just tell you the truth," Hunk shrugs. "The hard part is saying it out loud without feeling like an idiot."

"Well, it's better than I could ever do," she admits. "Words fail me when it comes to romance."

Hunk chuckles.

"What's so funny?" Pidge asks.

"Just something my mom told me earlier," He tells her. "She said Dad was scared to even hold her hand for the longest time."

"At least now I know what took you so long," Pidge teases.

"Well, I won't hesitate much longer," he says, bringing his lips to meet hers.

When they part, they are both blushing furiously. "Well, um, we should probably head back upstairs," Hunk says nervously. "Wouldn't want our parents to get suspicious."

"Yeah," Pidge agrees.

The rest of the night passes quickly and before they know it, the Holt family is headed out the door. "We'll see you at the Garrison tomorrow, Hunk," Sam says, giving the yellow paladin a pat on the back.

"See you there," Hunk says. They stay and wave as the Holts pull out of the driveway. Hunk smiles to himself. Tonight had been awesome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I promise we'll be getting to the actual plot of the story soon.
> 
> Don't forget to take care of yourself during these stressful times. I hope you're all staying safe and healthy!


	13. Some Time Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Allura have their second date.

Allura knocked on the door of the MccLain house. She could hear a stampede of footsteps on the other side of the door before it opened to reveal Lance, with the rest of his family standing behind him.

"Allura," he smiles. "Welcome back."

"It's nice to see all of you again," Allura smiles. "And to be back here."

"It's amazing to see you, Allura," Mrs. MccLain says, hugging Allura. "We missed you so much."

"I missed all of you as well," Allura says, accepting the woman's embrace.

"Now, we should sit down before the food goes cold. Lance told me It's been far too long since you've had time to sit down for a good meal."

"That's true," she sighs. "Thank you all for your hospitality. The castle can be a bit overbearing at times."

"Well, you're always welcome here," Mrs. MccLain tells her, smiling. Lance took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

After everyone was seated, Lance stood, raising his water glass. "To family, for no matter how far away we may be, we will always be close at heart."

"To family!" They echo.

The meal was even better than Allura had remembered. Though Hunk had done his best to replicate famous Earthen dishes with the ingredients he had on the Atlas, it was nothing compared to the dinner that Mrs. MccLain had prepared for them tonight.

Veronica and Lance took turns telling stories of their adventures that they had gone on in the past few months. Allura had seen parts of them from her place in the afterlife, but it was fun to see them so excited. It reminded her of the Lance that had originally piloted the blue lion. The Lance that was always looking for adventure. She couldn't help but smile at this.

The rest of the family listened politely, asking questions occasionally. Sometimes lance's nieces and nephews would but in, adding more dramatic elements to the story. Allura laughed along with them.

They remained at the table far after they were done eating. At one point, Veronica asked how she managed to use Quintessence to come back to life. That led to a long explanation on how they were able to bring back the realities after the battle with Honerva, and how the process was similar, but on a much smaller scale. 

After the table was cleared, Lance took Allura's hand. "I want to show you something," he tells her.

She follows him to the garden where they kissed on their first date. It was hardly comparable to the dead forest it was before Allura had regrown it. The flower beds were now filled with Juniberry flowers. The formerly dead tree was now in full bloom.

"This place looks amazing," She breathes, leaning down to to touch one of the flowers. "Did you do this all by yourself?"

"I had some help," he smiles. "I wanted to remember you, and for people to remember you for years to come. So whenever I came to Earth, I worked on the garden. I was going to get a plaque put in or something, but I couldn't figure out what it should say..."

"It's beautiful," She cuts him off with a kiss on the cheek.

"I wish we had more time here before we have to leave," Lance sighs. "There's so much I still want to show you."

"We have all the time we want to explore when we get back," she tells him. "I can only spend so much time governing a planet before I go insane."

"I'm sure they'll understand," Lance says. "But for now, you don't have to worry about and of that. Altea was governed just fine after your death, it can survive without you for a bit longer."

"You're right," she sighs, leaning into him. "Thank you, Lance. For everything."

"Allura, I meant what I said all those years ago," he tells her, looking her straight in the eyes. "I want to be a part of your new family. And families look out for one another. You never have to thank me for anything."

She smiled before bringing her lips to meet his. He wrapped his arms around her waist, deepening the kiss.

"I love you," he tells her once they broke apart. 

"I love you, too," She smiles, leaning into her boyfriend.

They spent the rest of the evening wandering the garden. Talking about nothing important, stealing kisses, and enjoying each others' company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for reading! And I hope you are all staying safe and healthy!


	14. A Royal Welcome (part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Allura attend the welcome ball.

The next day, all of the Paladins gathered at the Garrison, ready to head back to Altea. Lance and Hunk waved goodbye to their families from the mouths of their lions. Commander Iverson stood with the Teladuv at the ready.

"Are we all ready to go?" Shiro asks as he and Adam pile into the Yellow lion.

"I think so," Hunk says. 

The rest of the paladins give the go-ahead and the wormhole opens just above them. Ten minutes later, they are safely back on Altea, where coran is waiting for them at the landing pad.

"Welcome back, everyone," he says.

"Hello, Coran," Allura says, giving the man a hug. "Are all of the preparations complete for the ball tonight?"

"Yes, princess," he tells her. "You just need to go in for your dress fitting. The royal tailor is waiting in your room."

"Thank you," she smiles. She turns to the rest of the paladins. "I will see you all tonight," she tells them before hurrying off to her room.

"Coran," Lance calls before the man can leave.

"What do you need, Lance?" he asks.

"Was the public taking everything okay?" he asks. "I don't want a bunch of angry alteans showing up tonight."

"They all seemed to take things surprisingly well," Coran informs him. "But thank you for your concern. It's nice to know Allura has someone looking out for her."

"Thanks Coran," Lance smiles, relieved.

"Anytime," The altean says before turning to the group of castle workers approaching him.

That evening, Lance stood outside Allura's quarters. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on her door.

The world seemed to slow as the doors opened to reveal the princess. She was wearing a light pink dress with blue lining at the bust, waist, and around the bottom of the skirt. Her white curls cascaded down her back, with her bangs braided in an intricate pattern around her crown.

"You look beautiful," he breathes.

Allura blushes. "You look nice as well," she takes his outstretched hand.

Lance led her down the hallway and towards the ballroom. All of the Paladins were supposed to be introduced before the celebration began. Shiro and Adam were already waiting when they arrived.

"Are you two ready," Allura asks, noticing the worried look on Adam's face.

"I'll be fine," Adam promises. "I'm just not a fan of crowds. Especially when they're looking right at me."

"It will be fine, darling," Shiro squeezes his husband's hand. "I'll be with you the whole time."

A few minutes later, Hunk and Pidge show up. "You look great, Pidge," Allura compliments after she notices that the green paladin seems a bit uneasy. 

"Thanks, Allura," She smiles nervously. "So, when is Coran gonna call us out? And please tell me we don't actually have to dance."

"Coran will announce us in a few minutes, as soon as keith gets here. And no, you don't have to dance."

"Thank god," Hunk sighs. "I can't dance for the life of me." They all laugh.

After Keith arrives, they are all ready to go.

"Welcome everyone," Coran announces. "I know you are all rather excited to see the princess, so I'll keep this short. Allura's return was nothing short of a miracle. But it was also a symbol of hope to the universe. Now, I'd like to announce for the first time in a thousand years: Princess Allura of Altea!"

Allura stepped out onto the stage, waving. The crowd cheered.

After they had calmed down, Coran spoke again. "And now, for the Paladins of Voltron!" They all stepped onto the stage. Coran continued to speak. "Without these fine men and women, none of us would be here today, and though we celebrate them yearly, let us thank them for once again risking their lives for us. When we are in danger, they step up to the plate and face it head on, in order to keep all of us safe and free."

There is a short round of applause.

"Now, let the festivities begin!" Coran calls. The band begins to play a traditional Altean song.

Allura takes Lance by the hand. "Come on, it's tradition for the princess to begin the dancing."

"But, Allura," Lance protests. "I can't dance."

"Just follow my lead," she whispers, placing her arm on his shoulder as they reach the center of the ballroom.

Luckily, Altean dances weren't that different from those on Earth, and Lance had had a bit of practice when Veronica was obsessed with princesses, forcing him to play the part of the prince at the ball.

After the first song ended, Allura led him into a crowd of delegates, who bowed and kissed her hand before welcoming her back. She smiled and chatted with ease. She acted as if she had been doing this her whole life.

"Wow Allura, you're a natural," Lance compliments when they finally get a moment alone.

"I watched my father do this sort of thing when I was a child," she explains. "Being in his place, it makes me feel closer to him somehow."

"So, is it everything you thought it would be?" he asks. "I figure princesses tend to dream of their first ball as queen."

"Well, I'm not queen yet, but it's going better than I hoped," she says, thoughtfully. "But do you mind if we take a short break? I need some air."

"Of course," he smiles. "Lead the way."

They make their way to an open balcony near the ballroom. "I remember my parents used to come here when the party became too much," she says, sighing at the memory. "This is the king's balcony. In the old castle, my father's quarters would have been right over there," she pointed to a wall a few yards away.

"Well, it's an honor to keep up the tradition with you," he smiles, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"How come you never told me you can dance?" She asks after a while. "You seemed like a natural out there."

"Oh," Lance chuckles. "When we were little, Veronica was obsessed with Disney princesses, especially Cinderella. So she learned to waltz and forced me to be her dance partner. I never thought it would come in handy, though."

"I've met with lots of Earth's rulers, but I've never heard of the princess of Disney. Where is her kingdom located?" Allura asks, confused.

"Oh, it's not a real person," Lance explains. "She's a character in a movie."

"That makes more sense," she says. "You'll have to show me one sometime."

"Gladly," Lance smiles. "As soon as we get back, we can watch all of them."

They stay up there for a few more minutes, just enjoying each other's company, before returning to the crowded ballroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading! Writing this chapter gave me an Idea. Since Allura's never seen any earth movies, would anyone like to see a series with Lance and Allura watching disney movies? Let me know if that's something you'd like. I hope you're all staying safe and healthy!


	15. A Royal Welcome (part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk and Pidge attend the Welcome Ball

Hunk took a deep breath breath before knocking on his girlfriend's door. The door opened to reveal Pidge, wearing a light green floor-length dress. Her chestnut hair was held back by a silver clip. He noticed a slight bit of color on her eyelids, which was no doubt Colleen's addition. "You look beautiful," he tells her, unable to hide the blush creeping up his neck and onto his cheeks.

"Thanks," she smiles, smoothing out an imaginary wrinkle in her dress. "You look good, too."

"You're nervous, too?" he asks, noting her unease.

"Yeah," she admits. "It's so weird. You'd think piloting a giant robotic lion into battle would be the hard part, but I'd much rather be flying than go to a ball."

Hunk chuckles. "Yup. I've been doing diplomatic stuff for years and it still freaks me out."

"At least we won't be the real center of attention," Pidge sighs. "I feel bad for Allura. If all of those people came to talk to me, I would probably end up in a storage closet hiding from everyone."

Hunk laughs. "Me too."

"Well, we should probably get going," Pidge sighs. "The others might be waiting for us."

Hunk extends his arm for her to take. "Lead the way."

"Pidge, you look amazing!" Allura tells her when they arrive.

"Thanks, Allura," she smiles. "You too."

Once Keith arrived, Coran called them all to the stage. Hunk grasped Pidge's hand tight. Once they were dismissed, the pair made their way to the back of the crowded ballroom.

A few minutes later, they were approached by a delegate. Pidge hated to admit it, but she didn't know what planet he was from.

"Greetings, Paladins," he says as he approached. "It is an honor to meet the both of you again. I am Laji, I met you on planet (insert planet here.)"

"It's nice to see you again," Hunk smiles. "How are your people doing?"

"They were overjoyed to hear of the Princess's return. She did so much for all of us. I was hoping to see you two tonight. You helped get our ships up and running so we could escape the Galra. We owe you a great debt."

"It's no problem at all," Pidge says. "We were just doing our job. We are always happy to serve."

"I'd like you to know that we all feel a little bit safer knowing that the Paladins of Voltron are back together." Before they could respond, he turned and walked away.

"He was nice," Pidge notes. "I feel bad that I hardly remember half of the planets we went to. I mean, there had to be at least a hundred."

"It's hard when one day, you only know about the planets in your solar system, and then you're supposed to know the names and leaders of every planet in the universe."

After milling around and conversing with delegates for a while, Hunk let out a sigh. "Are you ready for a break?" He asks Pidge, who had just finished a conversation with an Olkari.

"Yeah," she says. "I know all of these people are nice, but I can only stand crowds for so long."

Hunk chuckles. Without a word, the pair links hands and make their way to one of the balconies along the outside of the ballroom.

Pidge takes a deep breath. "Well, tonight hasn't been as bad as I thought," she admits. 

Hunk chuckles. "Yeah, it was nice to see some of our old friends. But I still don't understand why it has to be in such a formal setting."

"It's what Allura wants," Pidge shrugs. :It's an Altean tradition. I might not understand it, but I'm willing to go along with it. For Allura's sake."

"Yeah," Hunk agrees. "But I'll leave the diplomacy to her from now on. It's hard to talk to people when you don't know much about them. It's so much easier when there's food involved."

"It's like you say, People are easier to talk to when they're full."

"It's true," Hunk shrugs. "I mean, why else do you think I bring peanut butter cookies to all of our late night coding sessions?"

"You know me too well," she smiles, reaching on her tiptoes to give him a kiss.

He wraps his arms around her, holding her closer to him until her feet are no longer touching the ground.

When the part, she's laughing. "Gosh, how are you so much taller than me? Gosh, I'm a freaking elf."

"Well, I happen to find it cute," he says, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "Come on, the others are probably wondering where we are."

"Good Idea," she agrees, following him back into the ballroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading!


	16. A Royal Welcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam and Kieth attend the royal welcome ball.

Kieth knocked on the door to Liam's room. He smoothed down the front of his suit and checked his bow tie before the door opened.

Liam stepped out wearing a pure white suit that had been tailored perfectly to show off his toned body. His tie was the same bright pink as his markings. His hair was swept back from his face and Kieth couldn't help but think about reaching over and messing it up.

"Um.. hi," Kieth says, suddenly flustered.

"You look amazing," Liam smiles, blushing.

"You... you do too," Keith says, meeting his eyes. 

There was an awkard moment of silence.

"Sorry, I'm terrible at this," Keith sighs. "I haven't been on a date for a while."

"Me neither," Liam laughs. "But I'm glad you invited me."

"So, um, I have some official paladin business to start off the ball, so you can either wait backstage or I can meet you out at the ballroom. Whihever you want."

"I'll just wait backstage with Adam," Liam says. "Besides, crowds make me nervous."

"Me too," Keith admits. "It's stupid, I've been completely calm in the heat of battle but I'm scared of people looking at me."

"That's not stupid, it's completely normal to be scared," Liam says. "I mean, for the longest time, I thought you were this fearless warrior who only focused on his soldier work."

"Well, sorry to dissapoint," Keith says.

"I'm not dissapointed. It makes you... human," Liam smiles.

"I'll take it," Keith smiles. "So, shal we?"

\---

After the paladins started the ball, Kieth met back up with Liam. "So, would you like to dance?" He asks nervously.

"Sure," Liam grins, taking the paladin's hand and leading him onto the dance floor.

After a few songs, where they did their best to follow the rhythm set by the band, but they ended up desolving into giggles after the Keith stepped on Liam's toes.

Eventually, they made their way out to a balcony, where Kieth took a deep breath. "Man, I'm glad to get out of there."

"Yeah, too many people," Liam agrees. "But at least I still get to spend time with you."

"Yeah," Keith smiles, looking the man in the eyes. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"I was wondering, what was it like growing up on Earth? I mean, I've been there before, but I've never been far from the Garrison."

"Well, my childhood wasn't normal by any means, my mom had to leave to help the blades fight Zarkon, so my dad had to raise me on his own. And he was a firefighter, so I ended up learning to take care of myself at a young age. After my dad died, Shiro and Adam took me in. They got me into space travel in the forst place."

"Wow, I had no idea, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It used to be hard to talk about, but after everything else I've been through, I realized I came out of it a better person." He takes his gaze off the night sky to look at his date. "What about you?"

"Well, my momma was one of King Alfor's guards, so my mom held down the fort. She took care of me and my little brother. Momma put in a good word for me with Mr. Holt and got me a job on the Engineering crew."

"They sound awesome, I'd love to meet them one day," Keith says. 

"I'll introduce you when we get back," Liam promises.

"I can't waitm," Kieth smiles. At first, he'd thought this night would be awkward. He hadn't been on a date since he was a student at the Garrison, but Liam was easy to talk to, and he could feel himself falling for him more and more as the night went on.

As the night came to a close, Kieth escorted Liam back to his room. "Well, goodnight I guess," Kieth says.

"Goodnight," Liam says. "I had a lot of fun tonight."

"Me too," Kieth replies. 

Before he knew what was happening, Liam reached onto his tiptoes and planted a kiss on Keith's cheek, leaving Kieth as red as his bowtie as he walked into his room and shut the door.

Kieth stood there, mouth agape for a second before smiling to himself as he made his way back to his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading! Make sure you're taking care of yourself during these first few weeks of school, they're always some of the most stressful. Feel free to leave a comment if there is anything you would like to see in the future!


	17. Takeoff

The next morning, the paladins stood outside, preparing to board the Atlas for their newest adventure.

"Everything is ready," Coran says. "I will miss all of you."

"I wish you could come with us," Allura says, embracing him.

"I wish I could, too, Princess," he sighs. "But I am needed here. These old bones aren't as agile as they were on our first journey. And someone needs to look over Altea. I will be thinking of you all every day, and keeping an eye on your progress for as far out as our radars reach."

She gives him one last hug before going to join the other paladins.

"So this is it," Keith says. "Another mission for the Paladins of Voltron."

"I never thought we'd be doing this again," Shiro sighs.

"Am I supposed to be this excited?" Hunk asks. "I mean, I know it's crazy dangerous and stuff, but it's like the old days. We get to be heroes again!"

"I know how you feel," Shiro tells him. "But we should hope this mission is over sooner than our last one."

"Of course," Hunk agrees. "But man, I missed Yellow." He patted the foot of his lion affectionately.

"Everybody aboard," came a voice over the intercom. "IGF Atlas launch in T-Minus 30 minutes."

They all dropped their luggage into their rooms before heading to the common area for launch. Shiro made his way to the bridge to prepare the crew for takeoff.

”Is everyone ready?” Shiro asks, looking around the bridge. There was a series of nods and thumbs up from the people manning the stations.

”Alright. Liftoff in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.” Shiro counts down before the IGF Atlas shoots off into the stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry for not updating last week, I had a hard decision to make. I’d initially planned on making it this fic a lot longer, but my heart wasn’t in it. I figured this was the beat place to end it. Thank you to everyone who read this. I know the Voltron fandom is dwindling, so this is likely my last fic for it. But I hope you all liked it nonetheless. I hope you are all having a good day. Make sure you’re taking care of yourselves. I love you guys💛


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